Saturday evening, at supper, I let English a little into the secret of what I intended.  I told him that the sort of ship-timber we were going to take would prove very easy to load and unload; that a number of colored people wished to take passage with us down the bay, and that, as Sayres and myself would be away the greater part of the evening, all he had to do was, as fast as they came on board, to lift up the hatch and let them pass into the hold, shutting the hatch down upon them.  The vessel, which we had moved down the river since unloading the wood, lay at a rather lonely place, called White-house Wharf, from a whitish-colored building which stood upon it.  The high bank of the river, under which a road passed, afforded a cover to the wharf, and there were only a few scattered buildings in the vicinity.  Towards the town there stretched a wide extent of open fields.  Anxious, as might naturally be expected, as to the result, I kept in the vicinity to watch the progress of events.  There was another small vessel that lay across the head of the same wharf, but her crew were all black; and, going on board her just at dusk, I informed the skipper of my business, intimating to him, at the same time, that it would be a dangerous thing for him to betray me.  He assured me that I need have no fears of him—­that the other men would soon leave the vessel, not to return again till Monday, and that, for himself, he should go below and to sleep, so as neither to hear nor to see anything.

Shortly after dark the expected passengers began to arrive, coming stealthily across the fields, and gliding silently on board the vessel.  I observed a man near a neighboring brick-kiln, who seemed to be watching them.  I went towards him, and found him to be black.  He told me that he understood what was going on, but that I need have no apprehension of him.  Two white men, who walked along the road past the vessel, and who presently returned back the same way, occasioned me some alarm; but they seemed to have no suspicions of what was on foot, as I saw no more of them.  I went on board the vessel several times in the course of the evening, and learned from English that the hold was fast filling up.  I had promised him, in consideration of the unusual nature of the business we were engaged in, ten dollars as a gratuity, in addition to his wages.

Something past ten o’clock, I went on board, and directed English to cast off the fastenings and to get ready to make sail.  Pretty soon Sayres came on board.  It was a dead calm, and we were obliged to get the boat out to get the vessel’s head round.  After dropping down a half a mile or so, we encountered the tide making up the river; and, as there was still no wind, we were obliged to anchor.  Here we lay in a dead calm till about daylight.  The wind then began to breeze up lightly from the northward, when we got up the anchor and made sail.  As the sun rose, we passed Alexandria.  I then went into the hold for the first time, and